Musical notation



Feb. 12 1924. 1,483,380

s. A. REEVE MUSICA'L NOTAT'ION Filed July i4, 1919 8 nventoz New Brighton, in the county of Richmond Patented Feb. 12, 1924. e v UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

srmmv rumor. n'mzvn, 02 NEW nnmn'romraw Yonx.

KUSICAL no'ruron.

Original application filed March 6, 1918, Serial No. 752,258. Divided and dill application filed July 14,

1919. serial No. 810,638.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, SIDNEY A. Rnnvn, a citizen-of the United States, and resident of and State of New York, have inventedcertain new and useful Improvements in Musical Notation, of which the following is a specification. 7

This invention relates to musical notation for stringed instruments. This application constitutes a division of my earlier application filed March 6, 1913, Serial 752,258, from which the matter relating to the pianoforte, organ or orchestral score resulted in Patent 1,313,015, issued August 12, 1919.

In my invention the form of stafi' employed is based upon the mechanical arrangement of the type of instrument for which the notes are intended. Thus my,

notation for the pianoforte, the keyboard of which is arranged upon the octave as its basic interval, has a staff having its horizontal lines arranged like the groups of two and three black keyboard-keys which repeat themselves each octave on the pianoforte-keyboard, with a. series of mutually contrasted forms of notehead which also recurs each octave.

But in thestringed instruments the basic interval upon which the mechanical ct of the instrument is arranged is the fth (for the violin, viola or cello) rather than the octave or, for the bass vi ol, double bass or contrabass, as it is variousl called, the fourth. Therefore my sta for these stringed instruments is correspondingly arranged for a recurrence of certain lines, and of a series of contrasted forms of notehead, once each interval of a fifth in music for the violin, viola or cello, or once each fourth for the double-bass.

These contrasted forms of notehead, thus recurring at each interval between adjacent strings, therefore indicate, each by its eculiar form, a certain fingering-point, or invisible fret, on the fingerboard, the pitch of which is indicated by the location of said -notehead relatively to one line or another.

In the drawings, Fig. 1 represents music for the violin, viola or cello. Fig. 2 representsthat for the double bax. Since my invention relates solely to the indication of pitch, the indication of time being substantially that now usual, the drawings show no note-tails, stems, bars, etc., but only staff and noteheads.

requires.

In Fi 1 the three heavier lines of the staff in icate the three upper strings of the instrument. These strings are tuned in D, A and E for the violin, or in G, D and A for the viola or cello. The lighter lines shown 1n Fig. 1 are not essential to my invention, but may be employed-if occasion The pitch-distinction between FlgS. 1 and 2 is to be indicated upon the regularly published music by the appearance of the word violin, viola or cel'lo" respect vely, printed upon each page, Or by other suitable symbol aside from the staff itself. F 1g. 1 also shows two lighter lines intermedmte between the heavier, openstrlng llnes, indicating a minor third above the open strlng; but these secondary lines, wh le of aid to beginners, are not necessar ly a part of my staff and may be omitted as in Fig. 2. In ig. 2 the three lines indicate the three upper strings of the fourstrmged double bass, tuned in A, D and G reslpectively.

v 11 both figures appear, upon occasion, e rtra lines outside the staff proper, recurring at the pitch-interval and space-interval separating adjacent heavy lines of the staff itself. These lines are called guide-lines. It IS a feature of my invention that one such guide-line, in combination with its series of mutually contrasted noteheads now to be described, suflices to determine the pitch of every note in the series, or of every alf-tone throughout the interval in questlon. Hence one such a guide-line, with its series of notes amounts in effect, in my system, to a sta so far as the pitch-interval in question ranges.

In each figure the several half-tones of each basic pitch-interval are indicated by contrasted forms of notehead, arran ed in such a way that no two adjacent hal -tones are indicated by similar forms. For instance, the open string' is indicated, in the drawings, by a circular notehead. In Fig. 1 this form recurs at a minor third above the open stringalthough with the circle preferably of a smaller diameter than for the open string. In Fig. 2 this form does not recur until the next open string is reached, or until an interval of a fourth has been passed.

The selection of any particular set of contrasted notehead-forms, such as that illustrated in the drawings, is of secondary im portance to the general features already one pointing 1 described, but the particular arrangement illustrated has these following advantages. ."Ln the first 'tion of the hand on the fingerboard o the violin, viola or cello, the full tone above the open string is played by the first finger, and the half-tone above the open string lg; tlns same finger somewhat d1storted,'or atted. The use of an upright rectangle for the full tone, with a flattened rectan 1e for the half-tone, indicates most grep 'call to the player the act needed to produce t e pitch 1n question. Similarly the fourth above the open string is played upon the violin or viola b the third finger, and upon the cello by t e fourth finger, with the half-tone above or below often reached by a distortion of that finger for that purpose. Therefore the use of an obli ue square or diamond-shaped notehead for the interval of a fourth above the open string, with a triangle pointmg downwards for the half-tone below (or the major third above the open string) and upwards for the half-tone above, is of ke graphic aidto the player, in his efiorts to select the not needed to pro duce the pitch desired.

Again, the one osition of the hand used most commonly a ter the first position, by

learners u n the violin or viola, is the third, with the first finger stop ing the string at an interval of a fourth a ve the open string. In this position the second fin er stops the string at a pitch in unison wit the next open string a ove, while the fourth fin r plays what would be played by the secon finger in the first osit10n on this string above. In other. wor s, in shifting from one of these two most common hand-positions to the other, the second and fourth fingers (with the open string as an equivalent of the latter) interchange functions, and so do the first and third fin ers. Therefore it is of aid to the player to ave the 'notehead-forms for the 0 en string, the minor third above and the fth above, of similar shape, such as circles (possibly of difiering diameter), or as circle and c1 ipse respectively, or as oblate and prolate ellipse respectively (as at a and b, Fig. 1), while the full-tone and fourth intervals above the open string are indicated by forms contrasted with those just mentioned, but similar with each other, such as the squarely and obliquely set rectilinear forms shown in Fig. 1. It 1s also of incidental advantage that the octave from the open string is indicated, in Fig. 1, by an oblique square, which is a form more like to the circle used for the open strin thanis any other rectilinear form shown. I or the octave, while not the basic pitch-interval in the mechanism of the stringed instruments, has a musical importance which is only seconda thereto in the performance of more difiic t music.

Speaking more enerally of all four 3?.- struments covered the drawings, the an ran ement of the contrasted forms of notehca in a series which recurs but once each pitch-interval between the strin s of the instrument in question results in t 1e fact that each form of notehead comes to indicate an invisible, intangible fret crossing the tin erboard of the instrument, beneath all -our strings. Thus the player, u on seein an one of these specific forms 0 notehea wi I recognize it as indicating a certain position on the keyboard, regardless, for the moment, of the exact string concerned. This leaves to the player, in order toachieve the proper pitch, only the task of selecting the entire interval-the great difficulty is to determine just which handosition will cover the next few notes, and t en to calculate by a rapid mental arithmetic the particular finger which, in that hand-position, will stop the string at the desired itch, this s stem of intangible frets, each istin ish by a characteristic form of notehea is of great aid to the layer.

It will lie notes on the staff, in their vertical relation to the lines, is roughly proportional to the pitch indicated, the notes (measured at the center of area of the notehead) rogressing upwardly on the staff as they 0 in pitch, half-tone for half-tone.

I claim:

-1. In a musical notation for str' instruments having equal pitch-intervals between its several strin the combination of a blank, horizontal llnes thereon forming a stall, the lines of which indicate the open strings, with a series of contrasted forms of noteead recurring once in each said pitchinterval, one form for each half-tone, the

vertical position of the noteheads on the staff pro ressing with the pitch, substantially as escribed. Y

2. In a musical notation for stringed in-- struments having equal pitch-intervals be-. tween its several strings, the combination of a blank, lines thereon forming a stafi, the said lines indicatin the open strings, with a series of contraste forms of note-head mcurring once in each said pitch-interval, one form for each half-tone, substantially as described.

3. In a musical notation for stringed instruments having equal pitch-intervals between its several strings, the combination of a blank, lines thereon forming a staff the lines of which indicate the open strings, with noted that the position of the Ill aeaeao curviform noteheads for the notes of the open string and the third above it, and rectilinear noteheads for a whole tone and fourth above it, substantially as described.

4. In a musical notation for stringed instruments having equal pitch-intervals between its several strings, the combination of a blank, horizontal lines thereon forming a staff, the lines indicating the open strings, with a circular notehead to indicate the notes of the open string, a recumbent rectangle to indicate the note a semi-tone above that of the -0 en string, an erect rectangle to indicate t e next half-tone above that, a ourvi form notehead to indicate the minor third above the open string, and a triangle touching the next line above to indicate the halftone next below said upper line, substantially as described.

5. A musical notation for strin ed instruments having equal pitch-interva s between its several strings, comprisin a blank, a staff of lines thereon having a ine for each string of the instrument except the lowest one, and a series of different forms of notehead, one form for each half tone oi the series, the said series recurring at each said pitch-interval, substantially as described.

6. A musical notation comprising a blank, lines thereon forming a stafi and indicating by their lateral separation certain pitch-intervals, and noteheads of contrasted form associated with said lines in such manner that the distance of the center of area of each notehead from the lines progresses with the pitch indicated b said notehead, substantially as describe 7. In a musical notation forstringed instruments having equal pitch-inte vals be tween its several strin s, the combination of a blank, lines thereon orming a stall and in iii-eating by their lateral separation the said h-intervals, each line indicating an open .ng, with a lurality of series of contrasted forms 01' note ead, one form for each halt tone in said pitch-interval, each series extending from one of the lines to the next and progressing with the pitch, the order of re enrrence of the said forms with advancing jpitch bein the same in each of said enbetantia y as described.

Signed at New Brighton, Staten island, in the county of Richmond and State of Net; York, this tenth day of July, A D, 191-.

series,

SIDNEY ARMUR BEEVE iene W sees A. L. Sonwen, MILDRED 

